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September 29, 2012

Protected Predator

A dogtooth tuna cruises above corals in the world's second-largest marine reserve, the Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA), which protects two interconnected ecosystems—the reefs around eight remote uninhabited coral atolls and the open-ocean water that lies between them. Fishing is banned, and predator fish, a sign of ecosystem health, still swim over the reefs. Kelton McMahon, a post-doctoral scientist at WHOI and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) who studies how fish populations are connected, joined an expedition to PIPA in summer 2012, tagging mantas to learn more about the movements and migrations of large pelagic fishes. (Photo by Ben Hodges, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution )